A+ Movie: Groundhog Day

When I first saw the trailers for Groundhog Day back in 1993, I found it to look moderately interesting. Figured I would watch it later on home video or television. When it came out on home video, my sister watched it and said it was really good. Then I watched it and felt the same way.

I don’t think I’ve watched the full movie since then, but I watched it again this past weekend. It’s a great movie and I consider the toned-down Bill Murray in it to be his best performance in a movie and the overall best movie that he’s in. Considering Murray has been in a large number of great comedies, that’s quite a feat. It’s similar to 2006’s Stranger than Fiction in that regard, which I consider to be Will Ferrell’s best.

There’s not much to be said about this movie that hasn’t already been said. The fact that all the major religions in the world have effectively claimed this movie as their own proves how good this movie is. The reason why is because it’s not ham-fisted, a problem with many movies, especially the past decade with wokeness. Even the reason he’s in the loop is never explained leaving that open to interpretation.

Upon rewatch, I noted how good the supporting cast was as well. Everyone did great in this film – Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, even Stephen Tobolowsky and Bill Murray’s brother, Brian Doyle-Murray. The pacing is great too considering the time loop, it’s very funny and the overall direction is top notch. It’s the late Harold Ramis’ best and an all-time classic. Bravo!

Grade: A+